Former Bozeman softball coach releases statement after firing
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – Former Bozeman head softball coach, Jared Smith has broken his silence just under two weeks after being fired from his position.
On May 29, Smith was informed by Bozeman Principal Ivan Beach that he would not be renewed for his position for the upcoming season.
The move came as a surprise to much of the community as the Bozeman softball team was coming off of its furthest regional playoff run in program history.
Bozeman fires softball coach following historic season
On May 30, Bay District Schools released a statement on behalf of Deane Bozeman School regarding their decision to fire Smith.
BDS releases statement regarding Bozeman coach firing
On Wednesday, June 11, Smith reached out to local media members with the following statement regarding his sudden departure from Bozeman and his plans to join the Arnold High School softball coaching staff:
'I would like to start by acknowledging and thanking everyone who has publicly and privately expressed support and encouragement for Amber and me. More specifically, I would like to thank each and every player who has played for me during my time at Bozeman and to each of their parents for trusting me to guide their children during their high school softball careers. I would also like to thank the administration, coaches, and teachers I have worked with side-by-side over my 18 years at Bozeman. And as I tell anyone who asks, I have been blessed to have the greatest booster club year in and year out. It is more than fair to say that the hard work and support of the parents (past and present) who have made up the Bozeman Softball Boosters have had a huge impact on every success that this program has experienced.
During my time as the head coach of the Bozeman Softball program, there have been highs and lows, learning moments, and memories made that will last a lifetime. The positives outweigh the negatives 100 times over.
From the beginning, I strived to set a standard of high expectations for my players, starting in the classroom and then continuing to hold that standard on the field of competition. In the last 7 years, these Bozeman Softball teams have earned the highest GPA in Bay County four times. Just this year, our players in high school had a 100% pass rate on every State EOC/PM assessment. We had 4 high school players finish this school year with a 4.0 or higher GPA. The players over the years deserve all of the recognition and credit for taking their role as a student seriously and meeting or surpassing every expectation that was set for them.
Carrying this standard of excellence to the field has been the second phase of my vision for the program I was leading. In my 11 years as head coach at Bozeman, we won 118 games. There were 17 individual players who signed to play at the collegiate level. In the last 8 years, we have made the playoffs 4 times. In 2018, we won the Bay County Tournament title. We were seeing the fruits of the standards I was striving to set come to fruition right in front of our eyes. This current season was validating, in many ways, that we were on the right track. The way this current group of girls competed was exciting and re-energizing. I don't think these girls even realized everything they were accomplishing, because they were simply performing the way we worked to prepare them every day at practice. In their mind, they weren't doing anything special. But, man, was this group special! As a team, these girls broke 4 team records, 6 individual records, and took care of their academics (see above).
Over the course of this season, in response to some adversity, I adopted a message to our players that, in a way, became a rallying cry. I encouraged them to 'Be present' and to 'Do more than enough.' Their response was incredible. They earned a spot in the District Championship game (in our first season after moving up into a larger classification). Then they earned the 4-seed in the Regional playoffs, but still had to travel to the 5-seed due to that team winning their district championship. No big deal…they went into that environment (for most of them, this was their first taste of playoff softball) and brought back the first playoff win in Bozeman Softball history. With this win, they earned a rematch from our District Championship game, against the team that finished #2 in the State (a truly great and talented team). In that game, we jumped out early, then fell behind in a BIG way. I called them together in the dugout and reminded them to 'be present' and to give me 'more than enough.' The players in that dugout at that moment may have been the only people alive who believed we had a chance. But they bought in and locked in and fought back from a huge deficit to end up tying the ballgame. In the end, we didn't quite have enough to topple our talented opponents. I, however, have never been more proud of a team than I was at the conclusion of that game.
As it turns out, that game was my last game as the leader of the Bozeman Softball program. If you are waiting for me to air out grievances here, then I am going to have to leave you waiting. I am not going to publicly argue or refute any claims. I know, without a doubt, we did things the right way, every time. Whether I understand or agree with why decisions are made, the administration at Bozeman is tasked with making tough decisions daily and this was their decision. If you must know 'why?' all I can do is point you to the statement that was released. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities I have had at Bozeman and every moment will be regarded fondly.
As Amber and I are now moving on to a new adventure, we are ready to announce that we have both accepted teaching positions at Arnold High School and are incredibly excited to join their school and softball program. I would like to thank Principal Smith for welcoming Amber and me into his school and athletics program. His support has already been a huge encouragement to us. I am looking forward to learning from their legendary head coach, Rick Green, and immersing myself into their winning culture. This opportunity is an exciting one, both professionally and personally, as we both look to grow as educators and coaches.
I realize this has been long, and I'm not sure what is the best way to wrap it all up. So, what I will end with is to simply encourage all past, present, and future players to 'be present' in all that you do and if you are going to do something, always 'do more than enough.''
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In the transfer portal era, it is more difficult for high school players to get recruited. Anyone watching Smith on Friday — and Indiana coach Darian DeVries was among them — had to be impressed. 'A couple of college coaches have told me they talk to fewer high school kids than they used to, obviously with what's been happening in college basketball,' Weaver said. 'But with Noah's skill, basketball IQ and size and length, his best basketball is in front of him. And he's playing good basketball currently, too. But without question, colleges should be all over him.' Mt. Vernon star guard Luke Ertel saw his Charlie Hughes Shootout last all of 88 seconds. The Purdue recruit, who sat out two days of games at last week's NBPA Top 100 camp after spraining his right ankle, rehabbed to get himself ready for the four games at this weekend's shootout. But Mt. Vernon's game against Crown Point had barely started when he turned it again and came out. 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Westview is coming off an 18-8 sectional championship season. ∎ Tyler Crews of Gary West Side is a player to watch. Crews, a 6-10 senior, has an offer from Southern Utah and a lot of potential. His teammate, senior guard Reggie Hinton, had one of the most impressive dunks of the day in the win over Kokomo. ∎ Silver Creek is going to be a handful in Class 3A. Dane Caldwell had 26 points in the 92-88 loss to Plainfield and Brandon Hunter added 19. The Dragons also a lost a close one to Lawrence North, 67-62.
